And the Apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." // Luke 17:5
The hardest and most beautiful week I have ever had was on a mission trip to Haiti in 2017. I felt so inadequate and discouraged because it felt like everything I was doing there would never be enough. Even so, I knew the Lord’s graces were present. We spent the week with the Missionaries of Charity running a summer camp for all the children they served in their school. So many of the people I met showed me the simplicity of life and the joy that comes from gratitude. But the one person I still think about to this day because of what she taught me is one of the sisters from the Missionaries of Charity.
Realizing what had been on my heart all week, I timidly asked her, “Do you ever feel like you’re not doing enough? Or what you’re doing could never be enough?”
Sister Paske’s response floored me. With gentleness and confidence she replied, “I’m not doing enough. But I give them the little bit I can and everything God desires to give them through me. Then I ask God for more. We must not be afraid to ask Him for everything we need, over and over.”
Ask God for more.
Ask God for more hope, more patience, more joy, more faith.
In today’s Gospel (see Luke 17:1-6), the apostles recognize that they need to have a greater reliance and trust in God so that they can do the hard things God asks them to do.
“Increase our faith.”
They see that what the Lord is asking of them is not going to be easy. They acknowledge that they need Him. The apostles knew that the Lord could give them everything they needed.
This is the untapped power of faith.
It can be so hard to ask for more from Someone who has already given everything. But He never tires of giving us what we need (and then some), over and over again. Find comfort in the arms of the Father who gives without cost.
Mary Peach lives in Atlanta and is passionate about helping others encounter Jesus in a real and personal way. Born in Ethiopia and adopted at age eleven, she shares vulnerably about faith, healing, and redemption through every season of life. Through her work in ministry and her writing, she hopes others feel less alone in their stories and more deeply known by God. In her free time, she enjoys photography, travel, pickleball, and spending time with friends and family.
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